What happens after
by Lagermorph
Summary: Starts right after Season 5 finale. Tony centric. OK, OK there will be TIVA.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Loss

So, this was it. The team was broken up, they were to all go their separate ways, and it was all his fault. _You just can't do anything right, DiNozzo, _Tony thought.

"You are all dismissed," Vance ordered, emphasizing the _all _and finishing with a smirk to rival Gibbs'. As the team filed out, Gibbs stood glaring at Vance who sat down and began going over paperwork, seemingly oblivious to the other man's eyes upon him. After a few minutes, Vance heaves a small sigh, and says without looking up, "Keep in contact with them, train a new team right and you can have them back in six months."

"I'll hold you to that Leon," The words are low and dangerous as Gibbs tucks the folders under his arm and storms out the door, the pneumatic hinge being the only thing stopping it from slamming.

The team looks at Gibbs as he slams the folders on his desk. "I'm going for coffee, don't anybody leave before I get back." He strides purposefully to the elevator without a backward glance.

The three agents sit at their respective desks in silence. Ziva and McGee just staring into space, while Tony cleans out his desk. Mostly, he was just throwing his personal items away

Tony takes all of 2 minutes cleaning out his desk, throwing most of his stuff away. The other two team members, former team members he thought (_all my fault_) were still just sitting at their desks, staring into space. The shock of the announcement still too fresh for them to do anything. He looked at McGee and said, "you should take care of what's in the bottom drawer for Gibbs." McGee's eyes widened as he caught the keys Tony threw at him and realized what Tony was entrusting to him.

"Tony, I…" McGee began.

"Save it, probie," Tony cut him off, as he tosses a set of keys to him. "I can't keep them, the boat might sink. Also, you can have these." He placed a stack of GSMs on the top of his desk. The GSM,s were next to his mighty mouse stapler, a Kill Bill coffee mug, and his letter opener.

Tony finished stuffing some odd and ends into his backpack and he zipped it closed. "I'm going to say goodbye to Abby," he said as he shouldered his backpack and started from the bullpen.

Ziva seemed to shake off her shock as Tony passed in front of her. "Wait, Tony. I will go with you."

"No," the denial came out harsher than he intended it to, and Ziva flinched slightly. "I want to talk to Abs alone. Please." His please was said softly, with all of his pent up emotion leaking out. He couldn't meet her eyes, because he knew he would see the accusation in them that this was all his fault. The same look he saw in the mirror every day since Jenny died. _All my fault._

As Tony walked into Abby's lab he heard some jazz music playing, but did not see her anywhere. As he moved back to her office he called out, "Abs, are you in…" He broke off as her office door opened and he saw her sitting on the floor with Bert, her purple hippo clutched to her chest. She had two tracks of mascara running from her eyes from the tears she had been crying.

"Oh, Tony. I didn't hear you." She turned her face away from him and wiped at her tears, just smearing her mascara over her face

"It's OK, Abs. I just wanted to check on you, and… I kind of wanted to use your phone." Tony reached down and helped her to her feet. Bert let out a fart noise as Abby gained her feet and she gave a coughing laugh at the noise. "See," Tony said. "it's not all bad. Why don't you go upstairs and see the rest of the team."

"OK, I'll do that." She turns to go, but swings back around to grab Tony in one of her bone crushing hugs. "I'm just really gonna miss her," Abby says as Tony struggles for breath.

"Air, Abs, air," Tony wheezes out before Abby lets him go and walks to the elevator, pressing the button. "Hey Abby," Tony calls after her as the elevator doors open. Abby steps into the elevator and turns around, raising her eyebrows in an unspoken question. "Tell Ziva and McGee not to bother packing, I'll take care of it."

The closing of the elevator doors cuts off Abby's wide eyed exclamation of, " What do you mean Ton…"

"You can do this Dinozzo," Tony mutters to himself as he sits behind Abby's desk and looks at the phone. "All you have to do is pick up the phone and swallow your pride," but he just stairs at the phone. _C'mon, you deserve this Dinozzo, but the rest of the team doesn't. _he thinks to himself. _She doesn't_. _You can't ruin another woman's life, not again._

With a sigh, Tony picks up the phone and quickly dials a number, "Hi , I would like to talk to Anthony Dinozzo, Sr," He says with false cheer. "Tell him it's his life's biggest disappointment, and I need a favor."

**Be kind, my first FF. I have some more, and will try to get it up soon. thanks in advance.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**This is my explanation chapter as to why the team members are where they are, I hope it is at least partially believable**.

Chapter 2

Up in the bullpen, McGee and Zeva were shocked out of their own thoughts by the voice of Gibbs, "Where the hell is DiNozzo?" Both of the agents stared at their former team leader blankly. Gibbs was standing in front of Tony's desk his gaze taking in the lack of clutter and the wastebasket next to it full of the trash of 7 years spent at a desk by one Tony DiNozzo.

Ziva was, of course, the first to shake herself back to the present. "I believe he is down with Abby, Gibbs," she told him as she started to rise out of her chair. "I will go and get him, if you want."

"No, I'll get him myself," Gibbs overrode her and turned to go to the back elevator, just to be brought up short by a nearly hysterical Abby running toward him.

Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs," she breathlessly called to him. "What was Tony talking about? Why do I have to tell Ziva and McGee not to pack yet? What's going on?" The last question was partially muffled as she threw her arms around Gibbs and buried her face in his shoulder. Bert the hippo gave a little fart as he was caught between them. Abby looked up at Gibbs and repeated in a small voice, "What's going on?"

"Oh, Abs," Gibbs placed a gentle kiss on her head. "Vance has disbanded my team, Ziva's position as a liaison officer has been terminated, Tim has been moved to cyber crimes, and Tony is the new Agent afloat on the USS Ronald Reagan."

Abby just stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Her face paler than normal. She clutched Gibbs tighter, burying her face in his chest, "No, no, no." Her denial came out weak and thready.

"Shhh, Shhhh," Jethro stroked her hair, trying to console her.

Abby suddenly pulled back from him and turned to run to Ziva. She bent down and enveloped the seated Mossad Officer in her arms. "You can't leave, you just can't."

Ziva looked at Gibbs and McGee over Abby's shoulder with a _help me _expression on her face, as she awkwardly patted her on the shoulder with her free hand.

Gibbs came over and began prying Abby off of Ziva, "Let her breathe, Abs. C'mon let go." The last was said with a bit of force to go with the increased tugging to disengage the Goth.

"Abby," McGee speaks up to distract her, "Where is Tony, did you leave him in your lab?"

"Yes, McGee," Abby answers him with an impatient tone, as she lat Gibbs pull her away and back to the center of the bullpen. "He said he had to make a phone call; and, then he said that you and Ziva shouldn't bother packing." Abby turned to Gibbs as she felt him stiffen in shock as she talked. "Gibbs?" she questioned, looking into his blue eyes as they were widened by shock. "Do you know who he called?"

Gibbs gave himself a shake and settled from shock to a grim smirk, "I have an idea, and if it is who I think it is, I think the team will be back together faster than Vance thinks."

"Boss," McGee questions, some of his frustration spilling over into his tone. "What are you talking about."

Gibbs' smirk widened slightly. "Figure it out McGee, who could Tony call that could put the team back together?"

McGee just looked blankly at his boss for a few seconds until a small noise from across the bullpen him turn to Ziva with a questioning look. Ziva had gone as pale as Abby as she turned to Gibbs for confirmation. "His father?" she asked in a small voice.

McGee still looked at the other team members with no comprehension. "I know Tony's family is loaded, but what can they do?" Abby nodded her head to his comment, as she had no idea what Ziva meant either.

"His father," Ziva repeated, in a stronger voice. "His father's college roommate and best friend is Senator Don Abernathy from New York." She continued as if she was summarizing a case, "The senator is the chairman of the Senate committee on the armed forces, he also sits on the committee for Homeland Security. If Tony could convince his father to call Senator Abernathy for a favor the Senator could call the Secretary of the Navy who would call Director Vance." Ziva continued, speeding up, her words tripping over themselves, "But, I do not see how this can help me. My position has been terminated."

"That is why they call politics the art of the possible," Tony's voice interrupted her. The team looked over at Tony leaning over the partition next to Ziva's desk. He flashed them the patented DiNozzo smile, even though it didn't quite make it to his eyes. He sauntered around the partition into the bullpen and perched himself on the edge of Ziva's desk. "Don't you know, it's not what you know. It's who you know, and how much they owe you." He stopped to pick a piece of nonexistent lint off the sleeve of his suit jacket.

"Tony," Abby began as she went to go to him, only to be stopped by Gibbs not letting her go.

"What are you leaving out, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked him. A brief look of pain flitted across Tony's face as he got up from the desk and turned to go to his own desk.

"Don't worry about it Gibbs, like I said. It's the art of the possible." He sat at his desk with a wry smile. "Some things just aren't possible." Tony's cell began to ring, and he pulled it from his belt to check the caller ID. "Sorry, I have to take this. You know, Dad's calling back."

Tony flips the phone open with a, "Hello Father, how did it go?"

"OK…OK… yes sir…Thank you, sir"

As he continued his conversation, McGee walked over to Ziva's desk and asked her in an undertone, "When did you find all of that out about Tony's family?"

Ziva stopped her staring at Tony to flick her eyes to McGee for a second before returning them to her partner. "When I first came here as Ari Haswari's control officer I compiled dossiers on all of Gibbs' team, with background into your families. Now shut up McGee, I am trying to listen."

But, it was too late, Tony had already snapped his phone closed and leaned back in his seat. "Wait for it," he said, looking at his watch. "Just wait for it."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs began again, this time his voice was lower with a dangerous warning tone that would not take any more diversions. "This is the last time I am going to ask you. What aren't you telling us."

"Well, you see, Gibbs…" Tony began only to be cut off by the appearance of Cynthia on the upper railing calling down to the bullpen.

"Special Agent Gibbs," she called, raising her voice to be heard over Tony. "Director Vance wants you in his office _now,_ sir." She emphasized the now_._

When Gibbs looked up to the balcony he could hear the muffled voice of Vance yelling from his office, " Now means At once!"

Gibbs looked from the shocked faces of Ziva, McGee and Abby to the smugly superior grin of Tony and growled to them, "No one do anything until I get back."

He turned and hurried up the stairs to the Director's office to the sound of McGee's, "Yes, Boss" and Ziva, Abby, and Tony adding, "Yes, Gibbs." Gibbs paused on the landing to look down at the back of Tony's head for a moment, before shaking his own head and continuing up the stairs.

Tony's silly grin lasted until the door to the director's office closed and then dropped from his face like it was never there. "Probie, you're with me. I need to get something out of my car." Tony barked, causing McGee to jump slightly. "Now, McGee." from Tony shook him into action as he got up to follow.

"Tony, stop right now." Ziva's command was almost shouted at him. "You are not going anywhere until you explain yourself. What did you do, and why do you need to go to your car now, of all times."

An easy smile came to Tony's face as he walked over to Ziva's desk and leaned down into her space. "I have presents for you, and I want McPackhorse's help carrying them. Now you two, just wait here, and the good girls will get their presents in a moment." With a jerk of his head Tony indicated McGee should precede him to the elevator.

"Presents?" Ziva repeated half to herself as Abby said "Presents" in a much more confused tone.

As the doors to the elevator closed, McGee turned to Tony and tried to hand him the keys to his desk, saying, "Here you go, I guess you can have your keys back."

Tony just smiled faintly back at him and replied, "Why don't you hold on to them for a while, Tim."

As the two agents ride the elevator down to street level, Abby began to think about what had just happened, and she was drawing a very upsetting conclusion.

Ziva watched as Abby began pacing back and forth, only two steps, turn and another two steps and turn, occasionally squeezing Bert for emphasis as she talked to herself in a tone just low enough that Ziva could not hear her. Suddenly she straightened up and stopped cold as an idea occurred to her. "No, no, no," She muttered as she bounced in place.

"What is wrong, Abby?" Ziva asked her gently as she was dancing from foot to foot, highly agitated.

"Hey Ziva, why did Tony call Gibbs, Gibbs? I mean I can see you or I calling him Gibbs; but, to Tony, Gibbs is always Boss, just like Tim calls him."

Ziva paused and reflected a moment, "Perhaps it is because Tony has solved our problem, maybe he is changing the dynamic of their relationship.

"No, Ziva," Abby asserted. "Tony has never directly referred to Gibbs as anything other than Boss."

"My point exactly," Ziva interrupted her. "This shows how Tony has grown."

"Not grown, Ziva." Abby replied shaking her head, "I think Tony has gone."

Both girls turned their eyes to the elevator as I dinged and the doors opened. They both found themselves holding their breath, waiting as they saw McGee come off the elevator with a cardboard box in his arms. He looked at the two girls and shook his head slightly. "He said his staying was impossible, but he could insure the rest of his team was safe." McGee gave a little smile, "He even did actually have presents for the two of you." As he set the box on Ziva's desk, he could not continue to meet their shocked gazes.

Ziva sprang up to go to the elevator, and pulled up abruptly as McGee moved to block her way.

"Move McGee," her voice came out low and dangerous, causing Tim to blanch slightly, but he stood his ground, swallowing before he replied.

"He asked me to tell you he doesn't want a friend right now. He figures a year or so on the Ronald Reagan will do him some good, and that that was his penance given to him by his father. He also said open your damn present first."

Ziva looked at McGee levelly and said in the same low tone, "I have listened, now get out of my way." As McGee moved aside, Ziva brushed past him, stifling the impulse to hurt him in some slight way on her way to the elevator. Ziva pulled out her phone and called Tony as she waited for the elevator.

"He said to tell you, you would not find him," McGee called after her as he reached into the box and pulled out Tony's phone as it began to ring.

Ziva made an exasperated huff and hung up the phone. "That does not mean I am not going to look." She looked at Abby, "Abby, please put a BOLO out on his car."

Abby started to nod, and turned to go back to her lab when she was froze in place by the voice of Gibbs from the balcony. "Abs, do not do that, and Officer David stay where you are." As Gibbs saw the determination in the Israeli's face he added, "We know where he is going, we can find him there tomorrow. Please, give him some space."

"But Gibbs, he is my partner," her reply came out almost as a plea.

"Not anymore, officer David," the voice of Director Vance answered her as he stepped up next to Jethro at the railing.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well I actually own a few things, just nothing NCIS related.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked into his home later that afternoon with a small reflective smirk as he thought of Ziva. The Major Case Team actually was off today for Jenny's funeral, so he couldn't realistically keep her from going on her search for Tony. _It's almost a blessing in disguise that Tony's leaving. _He thought, _She definitely would've shattered rule 12 soon. _His phone began to ring and he checked the caller ID and gave a small snort of laughter as he made his way through his house toward his basement.

He flipped his phone open and barked into it, " No I do not know where his is, Officer David. I am now going to work on my boat. We will meet at the Navy Yard at 0530 and meet him before he leaves tomorrow. Now unless war is declared, leave me alone."

He slaps the phone closed as he turned on the light to his basement and hurried down his basement steps. He strode over to his workbench, carelessly tossing his phone down amid his hand tools as he reached up to grab his bottle of Old Turkey and picked up his coffee cup. He starts slightly as a voice interrupts his pouring.

"Do you think I could get a taste?"

Gibbs turns to look back at the front wall of his basement and sees his former Senior Field Agent laying along the bench at the base of his stairs. He had a tan undress uniform on with a duffel tucked under the bench. His eyes were hidden by his dark sunglasses, which was the only thing left of the old Tony. His hair was cut high and tight, with none of the jell that always spiked it normally. Tony sits up, swinging his legs around to put his feet on the ground and he hung his head, refusing to meet Gibbs' eyes.

Gibbs just stared at the younger agent, giving him time to gather his thoughts. He watched as Tony glances up at him over the rims of his dark glasses. "That was the crazy ninja chick, right." His question wasn't a question. At Gibbs' slight nod, he took a deep breath and continued in a less guarded tone. "Good, that means I have a few hours until she thinks to recheck here. We have a few things to discuss, without… complications." The last was spoken with a hint of wry humor. "Complicated… you know, she once told me I called things complicated when I didn't want to tell her something she would disagree with."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs began, before taking a breath and continuing in a softer tone. "Tony, what happened with your phone call to your father?"

"Hey Gibbs," Tony looked up at him with a small smile. "Did Abby like her present?"

"Tony," Gibbs said with his voice decidedly harder than before.

"It's just that I spent a lot of time looking for Abs' present, also for the other one." The second part of Tony's sentence was almost too soft for Gibbs to hear. He started back up with a stronger voice, "You know how hard it was to find that for Abby, and then I had to get it specially dyed…"

Gibbs realized that Tony was lost in his thoughts again, and he would ramble on all night. _He'll probably begin quoting movies soon_, Gibbs thought before he cut Tony off with one word. "DiNozzo!"

"Sorry, Boss." Tony' gave his snap answer to his name being said in that tone of voice, looking up at Gibbs. His face fell a little and he quickly looked away, "I mean, sorry, Gibbs. I guess you really won't ever be my boss again. You know, I think I'm going to miss that."

"Tony, you were ready for me to not be your boss over a year ago. When I retired, I left you in charge. You were ready then, you are ready now." Jethro paused as something occurred to him, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind to get Tony back on track. "You know this already, now tell me about your phone call."

"What's to tell? I talked to my father and asked him for a favor. He did it, and you have your team back, less one." He attempted a wide smile, but if definitely fell short and he gave it up after a few seconds under the intense gaze of his old boss. He heaved a heavy sigh, looked away, and continued in a more subdued tone, "I heard a few weeks ago that he had a heart attack. And not in the 'playing with my new bride who's younger than my son' way. He wants me to reconnect with him, as I'm his only son, and other than his crazy brother, his only family. He has expressed a desire that the family fortune not be squandered on a search of all the golf courses in the world for mole people."

Tony held up a hand without looking up, "I know, I know, no tangents. Stay on track DiNozzo." He said in a slightly deeper voice. He was cut off for a second by the sound of the slap Gibbs gave him to the back of his head.

"Getting back on track. I had received a few calls from him over the past two weeks, but I had not gotten around to calling him back. To be honest, I had been putting it off as long as possible." He flashed a little smile, "I knew he was serious when he allowed me access to my trust fund. That was just before we went to LA with Jen." He stopped abruptly and looked Gibbs in the eyes. The older agent was taken aback by the unshielded pain in Tony's eyes.

Tony looked away, and pushed his dark glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose to hide his pain before he looked back at Gibbs. "My father just asked one question before he agreed to help me." Tony gave his wide DiNozzo smile, "Can't you guess? He wanted to know who was to blame for the team being broken up."

"That's my dad. Details are unimportant, as long as you know where to place the blame when it all goes to hell." Tony's smile started to slip a bit, "And we all know who was actually to blame, now don't we."

"Tony…" Gibbs began, only to stop as Tony surged to his feet. He stood toe to toe with Gibbs, his nose a mere inch away from the other man's.

"No more sugarcoating it," Tony spat at him. "You wanted to know, and I'm telling you. The old man needed to know who to blame, and he was more than willing to believe it was me." Tony seemed to deflate some as he turned away, "He's used to me failing him."

"You never failed me, Tony." Gibbs spoke softly to his Senior Field Agent, for in Gibbs' eyes Tony would always be on his team. No matter where he went, he would be part of his team.

"Yeah, well you are on the short list, then." Tony replied, with a small genuine smile. The first one of the day.

"All right," Tony continued. "Now it is your turn, how did the girls like my gifts? Did they hug afterwards? You know, I almost got them to kiss when you were in your coma."

"Oh," Tony interrupted himself, as his smile became a grin. "How was it in Vance's office when he had to reinstate the team?"

Tony's question about the gifts triggered the thought Gibbs had earlier. "Wait a minute DiNozzo. Why did you get gifts for Abby and Ziva, you couldn't have known Vance was breaking up the team."

"I didn't," Tony replied, as his grin slipped a little. "But, I wanted to get something for my partner without you slapping me silly for Rule 12. It wasn't like that." He hurried to explain. "It was a goodbye, because I may not have known Vance's plan for the team. I knew he would have something in store for me. After all, the director of NCIS died on my watch."

"Besides," Tony added in a much softer voice. "Ziva wouldn't want me, not for anything long term, She's just here temporarily, weekend fun pass, you know." His tone became wry. "And she sure showed I'm not who she would want for comfort. I'm not dangerous enough." the last was said so faint as Gibbs almost thought he didn't hear it.

A loud smack echoed through the basement as Gibbs hit the back of Tony's head harder than he had ever done before. Tony looked at Gibbs in shock. "You sure are an idiot, DiNozzo," Gibbs told him with a small smirk, looking to the top of the stairs.

"You got that right," a voice agreed from the doorway.

**A/N Sorry, I realized I was two chapters in and no one had been Gibbs-slapped yet. **


	4. Chapter 4

"_I'm not dangerous enough." Tony whispered so faintly that Gibbs almost thought he didn't hear it._

_A loud smack echoed through the basement as Gibbs hit the back of Tony's head harder than he had ever done before. Tony looked at Gibbs in shock. "You sure are an idiot, DiNozzo," Gibbs told him with a small smirk, looking to the top of the stairs._

"_You got that right," a voice agreed from the doorway._

Tony reached up with his right hand to straighten his sunglasses that had been knocked askew by the force of Gibbs' slap. His left was already rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, Abs," Tony called up over his shoulder, turning slightly. "How did you like your present?"

"Oooo, Tony, I looved it." Abby squealed as she started down the basement steps. She had to take it slow, as she was still wearing her four inch platform boots. "Dang it Gibbs, why do have to have so many stairs in this stupid house. Not that a house can actually be stupid, but…"

Tony smiled as he heard Abby's running commentary, and then turned back to Gibbs. "Did you hit me that much harder, or is it due to my lack of hair?"

Gibbs' only reply was a slight widening of his smirk as he took an obvious step back. Tony's expression got slightly sickly as he turned to his right just in time to catch the full force of an Abby hug head on. "Tony, Tony, Tony," Abby gushed as Tony gasped. "I loved your gift, it was perfect."

Abby pulled back a little to regard Tony face to face. "Please tell me you didn't get that for me just to cover for your gift to Ziva."

"Uh, no Abby, no." Tony began. "Well, I did get hers first, but I did go right back out to get yours…" He trailed off, under Abby's hardening stare. She pulled back from him and punched him in the arm.

"Um, yours was more expensive…Ow!" Abby's second punch to his arm was delivered with much more force.

Gibbs took pity on DiNozzo, and pulled Abby back a step to keep him out of her reach. "Why don't you tell him about how his gifts were received."

Tony looked up from rubbing his sore shoulder, his expression eager. "Yeah, Abs. How did Zi…"

As Abby's expression darkened, he switched what he was going to say , "Uh… you. Yeah, how did you like your gift."

Abby held her hard expression for a moment, before it dissolved into a sweet smile. "I love her," she swung her backpack down to open it up and reach in for something. "Where did you ever find her?"

_Four hours earlier, in the bullpen_

_"But Gibbs, he is my partner," Ziva's reply came out almost as a plea._

_"Not anymore, officer David," the voice of Director Vance answered her as he stepped up next to Jethro at the railing._

Ziva's stricken expression began to harden, and she took a step toward the stairs up to the second floor. She checked herself at the voice of Abby calling out to her. "Ziva, wait. We have presents." As Ziva began to take another step, Abby added, "From Tony, Ziva. Don't you want to open them?"

Ziva spun back to the Goth, "I am no longer a child, Abby." Her voice came out low, with a hint of the frustration she was feeling. "I do not need a present to fix my hurt feelings."

'Could've fooled me, Dah-veed," the voice of Leon Vance rang down over the bullpen. He reached up to pull his toothpick out of his mouth, and said to Gibbs as an aside. "Don't you have a rule about getting too close to your partner?"

Gibbs gave him a ghost of a smile, and stood up from where he was leaning at the railing. He walked around Vance on his way to the stairs and replied, sotto voice. "Like you said, they ain't partners anymore."

He continued down the stairs and through the bullpen. "You three, with me," he ordered as he walked back to the rear elevator.

"But, Gibbs. What about the presents?" Abby called after him, with a little whine in her voice.

"Elf lord," Gibbs called over his shoulder. "Bring 'em."

The trip in the elevator was silent, with both Abby and Ziva barely containing themselves, but for different reasons. McGee stood in the back next to Gibbs. He continued to hold the cardboard box that contained two wrapped presents, each a cube about two feet square. One was done in silver with a white bow, the other in matte black with a blood red bow. He watched the two women and tried to gauge what the were feeling. Abby, he felt, was conflicted. She was caught between her confusion about why Tony had to leave and the anticipation of opening the present he got her. She was practically bouncing as she tried to bury the pain of Tony leaving under her child-like delight at getting stuff.

McGee turned his attention to the Israeli assassin standing to the right of the Goth. She had a contained aura of barely restrained violence about her. Ziva, he felt, on the other hand, was just plain pissed. McGee was glad he wasn't Tony, because when Ziva finally caught up to him, it wasn't going to be pretty. _She's probably going to kill him this time,_ he thought to himself.

McGee was brought out of his thoughts by the _ding_ of the elevator doors. As soon as they opened, both Abby and Ziva strode down the hall to the forensics lab. McGee started to follow them, but was brought up short by Gibbs hand on his arm.

As McGee turned to look at his boss, Gibbs leaned over to whisper in is ear. "She won't kill him, Tim. She _is _going to make him wish he was dead, though." Gibbs flashed a smirk, before following the girls.

"Coming, McGee?" drifted back and Tim shook off his shock to follow quickly behind his boss.

McGee placed the cardboard box on Abby's evidence table, and he reached in and pulled out the present wrapped in black and red. "I think this is for you Abby."

"Ya think, Timmy?" Abby retorted as she snatched the box out of his hands and began to shred the paper off of the box with a joyful violence.

Ziva was standing at Abby's side staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts again. Ziva gave a little start and focused on what was revealed as Abby opened the lid of her gift box. "Oh, Abby, it's another Bert." Ziva exclaimed.

"Not quite, Ziva." Abby contradicted her. "Look at her colors." Abby pulled the Hippo out of the box, revealing it to have the same base purple color, but where Bert was one uniform color, the new hippo had blood red accents an it's ears, and underbelly. "Ooh, look at her feet." The other hippo had her toes colored the same blood red as her accents. She was also wearing a studded dog collar, with the name 'Betty' engraved on the tag.

"She is just so perfect," Abby clutched Betty to her chest, but the expected fart noise did not come. Abby looked down at her new hippo with a little confusion and convulsively squeezed her a few more times, to no avail. Not a peep was heard out of Betty.

"What's wrong?" Abby began, only to be interrupted by McGee's stuttering justification.

"Maybe Tony realized a lady would never make a noise like that." Tim tried to put a good spin on Betty's lack of flatulence.

"This is Tony, we are talking about. I think he enjoys fart noises more than anyone I know over the age of ten." Ziva looked at the rest of her team and the shocked expressions on their faces that she was back to the present. "What, I was upset and was being a 'bloomy bluss'. I have decided to save my anger for he who deserves it."

"Gloomy Gus, Ziva," McGee corrected her gently.

"Ziva, open your present," Abby encouraged her friend as she pulled her backpack off to place Betty securely inside. She turned to McGee and asked in a stage whisper, "Do you think her gift will fart?"

McGee choked down his laugh at the death glare Ziva shot at him. When she was sure McGee was not going to laugh, she reached for her present. When she pulled the present out of the box it was in and contemplated it silently for a moment.

"I believe I will wait to open it with someone special." Her eyes widened as she realized what she said. "I do not mean to say that you all are not special to me…"

"We know," Abby interrupted her, holding her arms out for a hug. "Come here."

Ziva took a step back, "No, Abby. I appreciate the sentiment, but I have to go. I have an oversized child to find."

Gibbs, who had watched impassively until now, finally spoke. "How are you going to find him, Ziva. Why spend all night chasing him when you know where he will be tomorrow morning. We know when and where his flight to the USS Ronald Reagan will leave from." Gibbs kept his tone reasonable, trying to convince Ziva, not order her.

"I have to find him, Gibbs." Ziva replied, her voice small and lost. She refused to meet anyone's eyes as she tuned to leave, the present still in her hands. "I just hate him so much sometimes," she said softly as she fled the lab.

Abby and McGee exchanged a knowing look as they silently agreed which word of that last sentence was a lie.

Gibbs interrupted their shared moment, with the abrupt declaration. "I'm going home to work on my boat. You two are off until tomorrow at 0530 when we will meet up to see DiNozzo off." He then strode out of the lab without a backwards glance.

_Present, in Gibbs basement_

Abby pulled Betty out of her backpack and presented her to Tony. "Not that I don't love her, but I was just wondering, well, you know." She squeezed Betty silently, with a questioning look.

Tony gave a little laugh and took Betty out of Abby's hands and turned the stuffed animal around. He reached into the rear end with a mischievous smile. "And…tah-da" Tony removed his hand quickly and presented Abby with a small jet black hippo, wearing a small back collar with silver buttons on it.

As Abby stared wide eyed at the baby hippo, Tony squeezed him and he let out a small squeaky fart. "I figured Bert and Betty would want to settle down right away."

"This is the coolest thing, ever." Abby gushed as she took the tiny hippo out of Tony's hand. "Ooh, look Gibbs, he's so cute."

Gibbs looked on and gave a small smile at Abby's face. "Bye the way, Abs." He casually asked her, "How long ago did you call Ziva?"

"Oh, I don't know," Abby replied, oblivious to the growing horror on Tony's face. "She should be here any minute. I checked here, and she was staking out the Elf Lord's lair."

Abby innocently took in Tony's shocked expression, "What? There were only two places you would go since you chickened out on talking to Ziva."

"I am so screwed," Tony moaned covering his face with a hand, only to start violently when he heard a voice whisper in his ear, low and sultry, _"You got that right."_


	5. Chapter 5

"_You got that right."_

Tony convulsively took one step forward to be face to face with Abby, who drew back slightly with a look of amusement on her face. Gibbs shifted slightly to one side to look over the Goth's shoulder at Tony, his smirk firmly in place.

Tony's mind was racing, _She wouldn't really kill me…would she? _He lowered his chin to look over the rims of his glasses and appeal to Gibbs in a low and sincere voice. "Boss, don't let her kill me. I mean, think of the mess."

Gibbs smirk became wider as he enjoyed Tony's discomfort, he began to reply, but caught himself as Abby spoke up with a bright smile. "Oh, don't worry about that, Tony. I could have the scene cleaned with no trace evidence to be found in less than four hours." Abby looked past a sputtering Tony to Ziva, her expression becoming concerned. "Just don't cut his jugular," she admonished. "That amount of blood spray will take days to clean up."

Gibbs took hold of Abby's shoulders and guided her around Tony. "C'mon Abs," he said, pushing her towards the stairs. "Let's give these two some time alone, to talk."

Tony looked helplessly at Gibbs pushing Abby to the stairs, he still hadn't turned to face his ex-partner. "But, Gibbs…" he began his plea.

"DiNozzo, stay," Gibbs cut him off as he began to help Abby up the steps. He spoke over the sound of Abby's books clomping on the stairs. "Don't you dare bleed on my boat." Gibbs reached up to cover Abby's ears and said in a low voice, "On second thought, I don't want any bodily fluids spilled down here." He directed a hard stare to the both of them as Abby tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a giggle.

Tony could feel the death glare Ziva was giving the back of his head. "Do not worry, Gibbs," she spoke in a tightly controlled voice. "I do not find the smell of sawdust sexy."

"Besides, she prefers the AC on and it's a little humid down here…" Tony's brain caught up with his mouth and he broke off in horror as he realized what he was saying; and, more importantly, that who he was talking about was behind him and probably heavily armed.

Ziva took one quick step to come up behind Tony and deliver a stinging Gibbs' slap of her own to the back of his skull. "Not one more word, Tony," she warned him. "I brought paperclips."

Ziva took a half step to the left as Tony cringed. She turned slightly to look at Gibbs and Abby on the landing at the top of the stairs while still keeping track of Tony. Ziva continued in her normal tone, "McGee should be by soon. I asked him to pick us up some Chinese take out when I received Abby's call."

Gibbs nodded as he ushered the forensics technician through the doorway from the basement. Abby resisted on the threshold as she turned back to Ziva and spoke in a rush, "That was really nice of you, Ziva. Hey, what did you order for me? Was it Szechwan rice or maybe some veggie lo mein…" She cut off as Gibbs jerked her through the doorway and closed it behind them. She could still be faintly heard whining, "But Gibbs, I want to watch Ziva beat on Tony, it'll be better than UFC."

"Abby," Gibbs hard tone was clear to the two agents even through the door. After a second of silence they could hear the sounds of them moving into the house proper.

"Alone at last," Tony said as he took a few steps over to the work bench before turning to, finally, face Ziva. He took a moment to look her over, she had changed out of her funeral clothes into her grey and black desert camouflage cargo pants and a tight black top, cut low to display her Star of David necklace. _Oh, great, why did she have to wear that. I'm about to be killed and all I can do is try to think of a way to get her to turn around so I can catch a glimpse of her ass in those pants._

"Tony." Ziva's voice was low and intense, but she didn't seem as angry as he expected. Could it be, disappointment in her tone? "Will you at least take off the sunglasses and look at me."

Tony reached up and pulled his glasses off, he turned and set them on the workbench behind him before turning back to Ziva. "There," he said, softly. "Happy, now?" He met Ziva's eyes and she drew in a surprised breath. She thought from his tone before and what he had said that he was treating this situation like one big joke, but the naked pain in his eyes let her know how much today had affected him.

Tony gave a bitter little smile at Ziva's shock, "I don't know if this means I've gotten better or worse at lying to you." He leaned back on the work table and broke eye contact for a second, before looking back. His eyes were shuttered, their pain hidden. He let his smile widen into a smirk, "So, are you going to yell at me for a while, or just kill me quick?"

Ziva's eyes softened and she gave a little, helpless laugh, "What ever am I going to do with you, Tony." She stepped up to him, stared deep into his eyes and reached up to softly pat his cheek.

Tony smiled slightly and leaned down into her space, "Well, I do have a few suggestions…"

The sound of the slap Ziva gave him rang out in the basement. "You can be assured, whatever it is, will _not_be quick." Ziva grabbed his shirt in both hands pulling him upright. "You can avoid a great deal of pain if you just talk to me. Why did you get me a gift? What were you thinking? Why do you have to leave?" She held him steady, eyes unblinking on him as she waited for a reply.

Tony leaned down some more, his lips getting dangerously close to Ziva's. As he moved in to kiss her, Ziva turned her head and released him, taking one long step back. "No you do not, Tony," she admonished him. "You are not getting me off of these questions."

Tony leaned back again and said one word, "Revolver."

Ziva looked at him in confusion, "What does a handgun have to do with…"

"No, Ziva," Tony interrupted her. "The movie 'Revolver', made in 2007, Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, it was one of Guy Richie's better movies, not that that's saying much…"

Ziva rolled her eyes and said, "I am not listening to another of your pointless movie references."

"Wait," Tony held up one hand. "Just wait. The movie wasn't important. The line from it is."

Ziva looked at him and gestured for him to continue. "Make it sappy, I will cut you a little slack, very little."

"It's snappy, not sappy," he corrected automatically. "The line is a rule: 'In any game you play, the only way to get better is to play a superior opponent.' We have been playing this game for almost three years, trying to figure out who is better at it. Well," Tony heaved a sigh. "I am conceding to your superior skills, you win. The gift was just something for you to remember my by."

Ziva's eyes widened as she listened to her partner, no her ex-partner. Her face settled into a small frown as she took in his words, "You truly are an idiot sometimes, Tony. This is not a game where one person or the other wins. If you want to tell me this thing we had was to be strictly a partnership, we could get away with scoring runs on one another. Something to help with bonding, yes."

"It's scoring points, Ziva," Tony said. "And you know we passed partnership a while ago."

"I am not agreeing with that, yet," Ziva answered him. "You have to realize, a relationship between two people, does not have one winner or loser. Both win, or both lose." The intense look she gave him was almost painful to bear. "Tony, you have accused me of not having feelings, I am telling you that I do. How else could you get under my skin so easily."

"How come it is so easy for me to get under your skin, but I can't seem to get into your pants?" Tony asked her with a sly grin, only to break off and hold both hands up, saying, "Joke, joke, just lightening the mood."

Ziva checked herself from completing her step towards him, lowering the fist she had raised. "Lose the smirk, Tony. You know we did not end up in bed more because of your reluctance than mine. You will tell me why, _now_." She gave him another hard glare.

Tony's expression sobered as he met Ziva's gaze levelly, "I have told you that, already. You have pushed me since Jeanne," Tony was slightly surprised to not feel any hurt when he said her name. "You told me I had grown, become a man instead of a boy. That I needed a woman now, not a girl."

Tony gave Ziva a gentle smile, "You are Israeli, I knew at some point you would have to leave. Mossad was not going to forget about such a valuable asset as yourself forever."

Tony overrode her started protest with, "What, I start a relationship with you, risk the wrath of Gibbs over Rule 12, only to have you leave in a year or so, recalled for your Israeli sense of duty?" The words were coming out in a rush. "Losing Jeanne hurt me, but I know it would be nothing to the loss of you. You are already my best friend, I'm having problems with just that loss."

Ziva's expression became stricken, "Oh, Tony. In Mossad, we are taught not to get bogged down with long term thinking on a personal level. Living in the moment is for everything but the mission."

Tony was silent for a moment, taking in Ziva's gaze. _This is just too intense, if this keeps up we will spill at least one bodily fluid down here, _he thought. _It is definately time to dial it down a little. _He gave a genuine grin and said, "Well, it is a good thing McNovelist isn't here, we probably just would've given him the plot for his next book."

Ziva's grin matched Tony's as she replied, "I think he'll get enough out of me slipping into his apartment to look for you and scaring him in the shower."

Tony gave a bark of laughter to that. His expression became hopeful, "So, you did like my present?"

Ziva gestured to the bench below the basement stairs, where Tony saw her present sitting there, still wrapped. "I wanted to wait to open it with you," Ziva told him, her voice taking on a slightly husky quality."

"So you could hit me if you didn't like it?" Tony's question was wry.

"Of course," Ziva agreed with him with a bubbling laugh. She paused and looked at him seriously before continuing, "You still have not told me why you got this for me. Was this a goodbye, something to remember you by, or was this some way you were trying to 'mark your territory' for when you were gone."

Tony looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean, 'mark your territory'?"

"I saw it on one of your American television programs, 'Skeletons' I think it was called. Some woman who needed a whole team of people to do Abby's job said men give gifts to women to 'mark their territory', to tell other men to stay away."

Comprehension dawned in Tony's eyes, "You mean 'Bones', and no, I was not trying to 'mark my territory.' I wanted _you_ to remember me so _you_would tell other men to stay away." Tony was very careful to keep any hint of accusation out of his tone, but Ziva still heard the unspoken name _Michael_ as clearly as if he said it aloud.

Tony shook off his thoughts of Ziva with another man, and asked her brightly, "Well, lets have you open it now."

Ziva studied him silently for a moment, before nodding and giving him a shy smile. "Yes. I would like that." They both stepped over to the bench so Ziva could open her goodbye present, both of them trying to stay in the now, not thinking of the missed opportunities in the past or the tomorrow that would force them apart.


	6. Chapter 6

Ziva walked over to the bench and picked up her present, sitting down and placing it on her lap. She looked up at Tony, hovering over her and gave him a small smile. "I was going to say, 'you should not have', but you already know that." Ziva took in his answering smile for a second, before returning her attention to the present in her lap.

Ziva looked at the silver wrapping paper and the white ribbon tied with a sloppy bow. "You wrapped this yourself, yes?"

Tony's only answer was the widening of his smile. He watched her shake the box lightly, before holding it up to one ear to listen. Tony's smile slipped as he let out a huff of exasperation, "It's a present, Ziva, not a bomb. Just open it."

Ziva's grin was teasing as she looked back up at Tony. "I know it is not a bomb. You do have some _small _sense of self preservation, Tony. I was just enjoying a moment of _anticipation,_yes." Her expression became mock thoughtful, her brow wrinkling slightly. "Perhaps you do not understand. Life is not always about immediate gratification." Ziva began toying with the end of the bow, tugging it to slowly start to untie it, her eyes on Tony's face.

Tony looked at her reproachfully as he leaned in close. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he said, "Almost three years, Ziva. I think I have shown I can wait."

Ziva looked down at her present, not ready to meet Tony's eyes and what she might find there. "Very well, I will open it now." She pulled the ribbon and undid the bow, setting the ribbon aside she drew her knife from her belt. Ziva ran her knife around three sides of the box, allowing her to pull the wrapping paper off in one piece.

Tony gave a little snort of laughter and Ziva looked up at him in askance, he could almost hear her saying _What?_ "I am just thinking that you using a special ninja unwrapping technique proves how appropriate my gift is," Tony answered her unspoken question, smiling.

Ziva looked back to the box as she removed the lid and removed the tissue paped to reveal her gift. He brow wrinkled in genuine puzzlement and she looked back up at Tony. "It is a stuffed animal?"

"Yes," Tony's smile grew. "You seem to be missing the point. What kind of stuffed animal, Ziva?"

She drew out a stuffed animal, dressed in a black robe, tied in front. The animal was almost completely covered, and had it's head wrapped similarly, with just a strip around it's eyes exposed, showing plush yellow fur. "And what is it wearing?" her voice was confused. She suddenly looked up at Tony with a hard expression, "This had better not be a prank, or..."

"No, no," Tony interrupted, snatching the animal from her. "Look at it, what animal Ziva. Look at the color. The beak? The wings?" He bounces it in front of her, "Peep, peep? C'mon, for crying out loud."

Light dawns in Ziva's eyes, "Oh...it is a chicken?"

Tony just looks at her, still bouncing it. "Peep, peep, peep," he repeats, widening his eyes.

"It's a baby chicken?" Ziva asks uncertainly.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Tony blurts out. "What is another name for a baby chicken?" He turned away, and then turned back pushing it up in front of her face, "It's a 'chick', Ziva; a chick, just like you."

"Like, me? It does not look like me, and what is it wearing?" Ziva's confusion was evident in her voice.

Tony looked at her in exasperation, "It's a ninja outfit, I mean c'mon! I spent a lot of time thinking about this."

Tony's frustration was evident in his voice, he took a deep breath and visibly calmed himself. "Shes a ninja chick, see, it _is _you. I even gave her her own weapons, they're still in the box." He reached into the box and pulled out two small knives, placed in sheaths and decorated like katanas. He strapped them on the stuffed animal so the hilts of the knives were upright behind it's head. "See, the knives are even weighted for throwing. I figured that you wouldn't keep anything without some practical purpose. Pretty cool, huh."

Ziva reached out and slid one of the knives out of it's sheath to examine it. It was a smaller, thinner version of the knife she kept concealed at her belt. She hefted the knife, to gauge it's balance. "You gave me a gift that is a representation of me? How is this to remind me of you?" Ziva did not know what to make of this present, and her uncertainty was plain on her face.

"No, Ziva," Tony's voice was gentle. "It is to remind you of how _I_ see you."

Ziva's eyes softened, and she reached out to take the chick from Tony, giving him the knife in exchange as she used both hands to hold it up to look it over. "I think I see what you mean. It is a little deeper than I would have expected from you Tony." Ziva paused as she noticed a plastic wristband attached to one wing under the black sleeve of her outfit. "What is this, Tony?"

Tony reached out and slowly drew the other knife from the chick's back. He took a big step back and said with a mischevious grin, "Read it, ninja chick."

Ziva drew the sleeve back and read aloud, "Bethesda Naval Hospital...psychiatric ward?" The last was said in a dangerous tone.

Tony's grin became even wider, "How I see you, remember? You will always be my 'crazy ninja chick'."

"Tony," Ziva gave him a hard look, before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "Thank you Tony, for the gift. May I see her knives again?" The last was said with a small smile.

"I'll just hold on to them for a while," Tony said trying to take an unobtrusive step back, but he was brought up short by Gibbs boat. He caught his balance and said quietly, "I'll really wanted you to like it."

Ziva looked back down at her gift, and a small smile leaked out. She squeezed the chick a few times and looked back up at Tony with a mock frown, "Just checking to see if she had anything in common with Bert." Her expression shifted to a genuine smile, "Thank you, Tony. I love my gift."

"Of course you do," Tony puffed up and stepped back over to Ziva. He leaned down and slipped the knives back in their sheaths. He refused to meet her eyes as he asked her softly, "Do you really like it?"

Ziva reached up to place her palm on his cheek and brought his face up so she could look him in the eyes, "I really do like it Tony... I like it because _you_ gave it to me."

Tony leaned closer. _Time to go for it DiNozzo, _he thought, only to be brought up short as Ziva drew one of the knives from her ninja chick and held it upright between their faces. _Or, not. _He drew back slightly and quirked an eyebrow in question.

Ziva looked steadily into Tony's eyes as she tapped his cheek with the back of the knife. "Not so fast, Tony. I have questions for you, remember."

"How could I forget," Tony straightened up and walked away for her, going over to the workbench and picking up his glasses. He placed them on his face and then pushed them up his nose with his index finger. "I'm glad you like your present, sweet-cheeks. I think I hear McGee upstairs with our food. Don't you think we've been down here all alone long enough?" Tony gestured for her to precede him up the stairs.

Ziva's face fell slightly as she looked at him. "How can you go to all the effort to get this for me," she held the gift to her chest. "But you refuse to talk about anything else. Anything _real."_

"You want us to have a _real _conversation, Ziva?" Tony felt himself getting angry and he could not tell why. "Do you want to talk about us, or do you want to just dig around in my head and have me tell you all of my hopes and fears while you sit and listen. I am willing to talk about everything _real_, but you get to go first." Tony folded his arms in front of his chest and settled back to his original position leaning against the work table.

Tony and Ziva stared at each other in silence for a few minutes until a noise from the top of the stairs caused them to both look up to the door as it opened. McGee peeked his head around and looked apprehensively down at them, "Uh, guys, I brought the Chinese like Ziva told me. We have it upstairs, uh, whenever you two want."

Ziva exchanged a glance with Tony and he shrugged and inclined his head slightly to tell her, _it's your choice_, before she turned back to the door and said, "Perhaps you could give us a few minutes, McGee. I am not done talking to Tony, yet."


	7. Chapter 7

"_**Could you give us a few minutes McGee, I am not done talking to Tony, yet."**_

At Ziva's words, McGee nodded and said, "Uh, alright. We will be up in the kitchen when you two are ready to join us." He backed out of the doorway, shutting it silently. He paused for a moment , listening in on what they were saying. McGee didn't want to, but Abby's warning when she sent him down to tell the two other agents was crystal clear. _If you don't come back to me with something juicy, even Gibbs won't be able to find your body._

McGee could faintly hear Tony through the door, his voice was hard edged with something. _He couldn't be angry with Ziva, could he?_ McGee thought. He edged closer to the door, almost leaning on it as he strained to listen.

"Well sweet-cheeks," Tony's voice filtered through. "I believe you were about to say something…hey where are you going." Tony's voice was raised. "Don't you walk away from…"

McGee jerked upright as the basement door was opened and he found him face to face with Ziva, her eyes hard on his. "McGee, I hope you can appreciate that Tony and I would like some privacy."

"Well, um…you see, I thought, uh…Abby…" McGee sputtered before heaving a sigh in defeat. "Look, just make it quick, OK."

Ziva's expression softened slightly, and she turned to her left as Tony climbed the stairs behind her. "I was not leaving, Tony," she explained over her shoulder. "I know your dislike of rats, and I thought I heard one. It seems that it was just McGee, here."

"Oh, hi Probie," Tony drew up short of Ziva. "What are you still doing here, go back and give Abby every little detail of what you saw. You saw, and heard plenty, right." Tony had a big smile as he watched Ziva staring at their team member.

"But, I didn't see anything, honest." McGee's protest was more to mollify Ziva than answer Tony.

Ziva studied him for a long moment and said without looking away from McGee, "Tony, could you get my present, I left it on the bench."

"Huh? Oh, alright," Tony answered as he retrieved the ninja chick. "Here you go."

"Todah, Tony," Ziva turned her attention away from McGee as she took the stuffed animal from Tony. "Would you mind if I let McGee show my present to Abby and Gibbs?" At Tony's questioning look she leaned in toward him and explained, "It might keep them busy for a few minutes to give us a chance to talk."

Comprehension dawned in Tony's eyes and he gave a smile, "Sure, sure, just be careful you don't get anything on her, McGee. Also, remind Abby that hers was more expensive." At Ziva's enquiring stare, Tony shook his head and wrinkled his nose to indicate this was not the truth. Both of them turned to McGee with nearly identical hard stares.

"Got it," said McGee. "Show them the plush bird that cost less than Betty."

"It's a ninja chick, McGee. I mean c'mon, doesn't anyone use their imagination anymore." Tony burst out in exasperation. "It's a cr…" Tony was cut off as Ziva neatly elbowed him in the diaphragm, causing what he had been about to say to wheeze to a stop as Tony's eyes bugged out as he tried to draw breath.

"Tony," Ziva said his name in warning before continuing to McGee. "It was a thoughtful gift, please show it to the others and _wait_ for us to join you." She continued to give him a hard stare until McGee slowly nodded to indicate he understood what she wanted him to do.

McGee started to leave only to pause as Ziva added, "Be careful of her weapons, they are sharp." Tim gave a little headshake and continued to the kitchen as Ziva closed the door to the basement again.

McGee turned the stuffed animal this way and that to look it over as he walked down the short hallway to the kitchen. It really was a one foot tall baby chick in a ninja outfit. He gave a little snort at Tony's sense of humor, then he noticed more about it. He would've expected the eyes of the chick to be a baby blue, but they were a deep brown. The ninja outfit was not made of a cotton or synthetic fiber, it was sheer raw silk done with two layers and dyed the deepest black. The knives were functional, as any weapon for Ziva must be; but, the sheathes they were in had inset onyx in the shape of Japanese characters, the black on black almost unnoticeable unless you really looked for it.

"I think this wasn't just an off the rack purchase for Tony," he said to himself as he reached the kitchen. Abby was practically dancing with anticipation, as Gibbs fiddled with his coffee maker, the Chinese food was left sitting on the kitchen table, untouched.

"McGee!" Abby exclaimed as he entered the kitchen. "What happened? Was Tony on his knees begging for his life, were they talking, were they doing something else?"

At the last question Gibbs looked up from the coffee maker to check McGee expression. Seeing what he wanted he went back to fixing coffee with a faint comment, "They know better than that."

Tim raised his hands to try to get Abby to slow down, but when she saw the stuffed animal she let out a squeal of delight. "Oh, Tim. Is that Ziva's gift, let me see." She set Betty and the baby hippo down on the table to step around to McGee and reached out for the chick. "That is so cool."

As Abby took her from Tim he said, "Be careful, her little swords are functional."

Abby looked at Tim like he was an idiot, "Of course they are McGee. Could you see Ziva accepting a gift that didn't have some weapon attached to it? Tony knew she wouldn't see the point."

"I just don't see the point of the gift," McGee began. "He got her a ninja chick. Ziva is a ninja chick, why would she want one?"

Gibbs looked up from pouring himself a cup of coffee and answered him like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "No, McGee. It's how _Tony _sees her."

He walked over and looks the stuffed animal up and down in Abby's hands and gave a little snort of laughter. "I hope Ziva doesn't read Japanese."

"Why's that, Gibbs?" Abby asks him as she turns the chick around in her hands. Gibbs reaches out and traces the inset characters on the sheathes.

Abby Frowns slightly as she translates, "This one is 'ninja', this one 'baby chicken' or 'chick' I guess. Oh." Abby begins to laugh, "I see what you mean Gibbs."

"What?" McGee looks blankly from Abby to Gibbs as they chuckled. "What does the other symbol mean?"

Abby continued to giggle, "What does Tony call Ziva, Tim?"

"Uh, 'ninja chick,' I got that already," McGee replied, slightly exasperated.

"No, think," Abby pressed. "What does Tony call her when she really scores on him?"

McGee draws a surprised breath and answers with his eyes slightly wide, "Crazy ninja chick. Oh boy, she _is _going to kill him."

"No she's not, McWorrywort." McGee starts as Tony speaks up from behind him. "She _loves_ my gift, don't you my crazy ninja chick?"

"Tony, we have discussed this," Ziva's reply held a hint of warning. "You will not call me that in public again, or you _will_ be sorry."

Tony's only answer was a huge DiNozzo grin and Ziva shook her head in disgust as she moved toward the table and the food laid out there. She hunted through the boxes of Chinese and selected one to pass it back to Tony before taking another one for herself. Tony reached past Ziva to grab two sets of chopsticks and offered her one.

Abby speaks up with a knowing tone, "So…did you two have a good talk?"

Ziva reached out to take the chopsticks from Tony, but he did not release them right away as he held her gaze with his and smiled at her as he answered for both of them, "Oh, yes. You could say that, Abs."

Gibbs caused them to break eye contact with his question, "So, I will not have to have Abby clean _anything_ up downstairs?" Both Tony and Ziva turned to Gibbs with hard stares. Gibbs just looked blandly back and took a sip of his coffee as Abby gave a little giggle.

Ziva broke off looking at Gibbs to glance at Tony before looking back to Gibbs to say, "It is getting late, Gibbs. I am going home now." She bumped Tony hip to hip to get his attention. When he looked down at her she raised her eyebrows in question.

"Yeah, Gibbs," Tony spoke up. "I probably should be going as well. I have an early day tomorrow."

"It's five in the afternoon," McGee's protest went unnoticed as Gibbs continued to stare at Tony and Ziva for another moment before nodding slightly and taking another sip of coffee.

Ziva hurried out, grabbing Tony arm as he tried to put a bite of shrimp lo mein in his mouth, pulling him behind her. "I will see you tomorrow Abby, McGee, Gibbs," Ziva called over her shoulder as they left.

Abby traded glances with McGee and told him, "Don't worry, Timmy. I'll get all the dirt from Ziva tomorrow."

"I don't know, Abby." McGee replied. "She has been trained as a spy. I would think she would be pretty good at keeping secrets."

Abby smiled slyly back at McGee. "I made her promise to tell me everything before I told her where Tony was when I called her earlier."

They both tuned to look at Gibbs as he choked while taking another sip of coffee. "What?" he asked, looking innocently back at them. "That was funny."

**A/N: Be patient, we'll get to their conversation eventually.**


	8. Chapter 8

"_**What," Gibbs asked. "It was funny."**_

"Just a little, Gibbs," both Abby and McGee jumped at the sound of Tony's voice from the doorway. As they both turned to him, he moved into the kitchen and opened a drawer. He pulled out a fork and held it up for Gibbs to see. "I'm just gonna borrow this."

Tony turned to McGee and added, "Could you bring my duffel from the basement with you tomorrow Probie? OK, thanks, McGee, I gotta go; places to see, people to do." He flashed a big smile before turning to dash out of the kitchen.

McGee traded glances with Abby and they both turned to Gibbs, who had not moved. Gibbs returned their gazes impassively and took another sip of coffee.

Out in front of Gibbs' house, Tony came rushing down the front steps. He catches Ziva's quizzical look as she stands at the drivers side door of her car. "I figured I should eat fast," Tony explained waving the fork as he reached the passenger door of her Mini Cooper. Ziva's face brightened in amusement as she opened her door and slid inside. Tony matched her, quickly fastening his seat belt.

"So, where are we going?" Tony asked her with a grin, before shoveling a huge bite of his shrimp lo mein into his mouth.

Ziva glanced sideways at him as she started her car. "I believe your place is closer, yes?" She pulled out with her usual disregard for the rules of the road and executed a U-turn so they were headed towards Tony's condo.

Tony chewed and swallowed his mouthful before sticking his fork upright in his box of take out, he placed the food down in his lap and reached over with his left hand to stroke Ziva's ear. He traced the outside before rubbing her earlobe. She sucked her breath in with a quick hiss at his touch, glancing over at him and flashing another smile. Tony returned her smile and leaned over as much as his seatbelt would allow to whisper in her ear, "And what do you expect to happen when we get there Miss Daveed." Tony drew out the last syllable of Ziva's name in a way that sent shivers up her spine.

"No fair, Tony," Ziva countered. "You need to behave, at least until we get there." The last was said with a sidelong smile.

Tony was unrepentant, "You could have let me drive…I have all sorts of ideas as to what you could do to occupy…" Tony broke off as Ziva made a hard left turn, slamming into the passenger side door. "Hey."

Ziva gave a little laugh and glanced over at Tony rubbing his head where he knocked it against the door frame. When he looked back over at her she caught his eye and held it for a long second, before looking back to the road with an amused order of, "Behave, Tony."

Tony continued to rub his head for a moment and then reached down for his food, taking another huge forkful to keep himself from having to answer her. They continued to ride in comfortable silence as he chewed, remembering the past few minutes in Gibbs' basement.

_Earlier, in Gibbs' basement_

McGee started to leave only to pause as Ziva added, "Be careful of her weapons, they are sharp." Tim gave a little head shake and continued to the kitchen as Ziva closed the door to the basement again.

Ziva turned back to Tony who was standing very close to her, she quirked an eyebrow and nodded for him to go back downstairs. He smiled slowly at her and shook his head no, saying, "You know we will not really have any privacy down here with the rest of the team up in the kitchen."

"What do you suggest?" Ziva questioned him coyly, with a small smile.

"What we need is some real privacy." Tony leaned in to her to whisper the rest in her ear, "I have the feeling that the rest of our 'conversation' will take all night."

Ziva gave a small laugh, as she widened her eyes mockingly at him, "You do not have to exaggerate for me, Tony. I appreciate whatever _small_ time we may be able to spend together."

Tony didn't even acknowledge Ziva's implied insult as he continued to stare intently into her eyes. "You are not getting me off this question, Ziva," his voice was low and throaty. "First we have a conversation, then we will consider a _conversation_." The tone Tony used for the second conversation in that sentence sent a little shiver up Ziva's spine.

"As you wish," Ziva replied before turning to open the door. She was stopped by the gentle, but insistent grip of Tony's hand on her arm. She looked from his hand on her arm up at him in question.

Tony leaned in so their noses were almost touching, "Yes I do wish, Ziva. Remember, this is to clear the air between us, no more games."

Ziva gave a little snort of laughter, "Yes, like we can stop playing games."

Tony's gaze didn't waver, "Tonight we can, for a little while. When our little talk is done, you can go back to mentally and physically torturing me; but, for tonight I want your honesty." He held her gaze for a moment until she slowly nodded her agreement. He nodded back, and reached past her to open the door.

"You know, my crazy ninja chick, after tonight it will probably be a few months before we see each other again." Tony said to her as he passed through the doorway.

"Tony," Ziva replied, her voice going low with warning, "I am going to ask you not to call me that in front of the others." Tony paused to look at her over his shoulder with a small smirk, before continuing toward the kitchen. Ziva caught up to him and stopped him with both hands on his shoulders, leaning up to breathe in his ear, "And, I do not think you will have any problem getting one of the sailors aboard the Ronald Reagan to 'give you a hand,' yes, if your tensions run too high from being at sea for too long."

Tony looked at her grinning face in profile and put on a slightly wounded expression, "You know I know you want me Ziva. Casting aspersions on my sexuality is counterproductive."

Ziva's grin just got wider as she replied, "I know _you_ want _me _just as badly, if not more, Tony. So my making fun of your sexuality is not counterproductive." She gives Tony a little shove to get him moving, "But it is fun, yes." Tony could hear her grin in her voice as he heaves a martyred sigh before walking to the kitchen.

_Present, in front of Tony's condo_

Ziva pulled up with a screeching of tires that threw Tony forward against his seat belt and what was left of his Chinese food to slip out of his hand and impact on the inside of the windshield. "Eh, sorry," he said to Ziva as he looked at the mess, but she was already out of the car and his apology was to the sound of the drivers side door slamming.

Ziva paused as she approached the door to Tony's condo to look back at him still seated in the car trying to scoop his lo mein back into the box, "Coming, Tony." her tone made it more of an order than a question.

"_I _want _her_more, yeah right." Tony said to himself as he fumbled the seat belt off and opened the door to lever himself out of Ziva's Mini Cooper. "Damned clown car," he muttered as he tossed Ziva the keys to his condo.

Ziva easily plucked them out of the air and held them up in question. "So you don't have to pick the lock," Tony explained.

"Todah," Ziva called over her shoulder as she turned away to walk to his front door, Tony follows, tossing his take out box in the gutter.

Tony caught up to Ziva as she was still trying the different keys for the one that matched his deadbolt. "That's the one," Tony indicated the key she was just selecting.

"It would have been quicker if I had just picked the lock," Ziva grumbled as she opened the door.

Tony followed right on her heels, slamming the door behind them, before grabbing her arm to spin Ziva around into his arms. He held her there as she looked at him with an expression of suprise on her face. He gave a big smile, and said, "Just getting it out of the way." He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her hungrily. He moved his right hand from her arm to her back while his left moved up to cup the back of her head as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Ziva was slightly breathless as he broke the kiss. "What about the conversation?" she asked him.

Tony smiled down at her as he moved closer, his lips touching her right ear as he answered her, "I decided that we can talk during the down times." He proceeded to gently kiss her earlobe, before moving down her neck.

Ziva pulled back slightly to look Tony in the eye, "Down _times_?" she questioned, emphasizing the plural.

"It has been three years, sweet cheeks," Tony replied with a smile as he went back to nibbling on her neck.

Ziva reached up to grasp both sides of Tony's head and force it back from her neck, "Tony, no." She drew back to look at his confused expression, and rolled her eyes. "Not no, I do not want this, Tony. I mean no, I am not doing this with you for the first time on your foyer floor."

At her explanation Tony got a huge grin on his face and answered her. "Well, my bedroom is right this way." He gestured with one arm as he kept the other at her back to hold onto her as they walked down the hallway. As they walked, Ziva rested her head on his shoulder and let him guide her, only to have her eyes snap back open as she felt his hand move from her back down to cup at her buttocks.

"Tony, can you not wait 10 seconds until we actually reach your bedroom?" her voice was half laughing, half exasperated.

"Three years, sweet cheeks," Tony answered, giving the cheeks in question a squeeze. "Ow," he exclaimed in mock hurt as she gently elbowed him in the side.

As they reached the doorwat to Tony's bedroom, Ziva turned to look at him, "Three years, but it will be worth the wait, yes." Her smile was seductive and playful all at the same time.

"Of that I have no doubt," Tony answered her as he leaned down to kiss her again.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony DiNozzo lay on his back in his bed with a huge smile on his face as he listened to his ex-partner breathe. He looked to his left to see the back of Ziva's head as she lay face down beside him. His smile got even wider as he reflected on what they had been doing for the last eight hours. It wasn't just the sex, even Tony could not perform without a break for that long. _Although, with her, I definitely found I had a new level to my game_, he thought. _And to think, we waited so long for this. Ah, well, we definitely are going to have to make up for lost time, even with me going to sea in…_he glanced up to his nightstand to check the time, before his eyes were drawn back to Ziva. _Damn, We only have three hours left. _

He reflected on everything that had happened overnight. Not just the sex, but the conversation they had during the down times. _I really didn't believe she would open up to me, maybe it took us being separated for us to get closer. Ha! That's deep DiNozzo, you're going to start watching foreign film and dreaming of Sumo wrestlers soon. _

Tony thought of what happened after their first frantic coupling, it took them a while to sort out who would set the pace. He thought it was that they were both too intent on the other's pleasure than their own that took them so long the first time. He remembered being so concerned she got off first that his own pleasure was almost ignored; but when she came, his own orgasm snuck up on him like a lightning bolt.

As they lay next to each other in the afterglow, Tony continued to watch Ziva, he couldn't get enough of looking at her, her body covered in a light sheen of sweat, as she was breathing as raggedly as he was. _Well, that's something, at least_. He thought. _I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I couldn't keep up. Well, I guess now that round 1 of T & A is over, it's time for the Q & A portion of our night_.

Tony shifted over to whisper in Ziva's ear. His breathless question about what she was thinking caused her to look away for a moment before looking back to him intently. "This is the time for us to talk, yes." Her gaze was so open, with just a hint of pain. "You want to know about me, about what I have done."

Tony reached out to cup Ziva's face with his hand, "No, Ziva," he corrected her. "I don't care about what you have done. I care about how you feel, and what you are thinking."

Ziva closed her eyes to break their gaze and nodded slightly into his hand. "I know Tony," she said. "But, I think that my thoughts are going to be harder for me to talk about than my deeds."

Tony pulled her face up and leaned in to kiss her, not with urgency, but softly. He drew back and met her eyes as she finally opened them. "I need to know, Ziva," he began gently, waiting for her nod to continue. "This was the start of something, not the end, right?"

Ziva regarded him evenly, her face giving nothing away. "What do you mean, Tony," she asked, her voice giving nothing away. "We are no longer working together, I would say that is an end." She looked to the side and her voice hardening slightly. "I still do not understand, you could reunite the team with just one phone call, yet you chose to still leave us…leave me." At the last she looked back at Tony to let him see the hurt in her eyes.

"Oh, Ziva," Tony answered her. "That's because you do not know my father, anything I would want from him comes at a price." He gave her a little, bitter smile. "My, exile, I guess you could call it, is just his way of showing me he is still in control. I also have to visit him on leave, it's his way of reconnecting with him."

Ziva's eyes became concerned, "because of his heart attack, yes?"

"How did you know about that?" his question came out harsher than he intended.

"I was given a brief about it from the Israeli Embassy before we went to LA." At Tony's questioning look, she explained, "You have always avoided, or downplayed your family's power, Tony. What you did today shows that Mossad was right to have your father on the list of people with political influence."

"So, your Mossad buddies spy on my family?" Tony's question was half disbelief, half outrage.

Ziva's eyes widened slightly, "No, Tony, nothing like that. It is just an internet search program, nothing intrusive, just data digging."

Tony considered what she said as he automatically corrected her , "Data mining, Ziva, not digging." He looked back into her eyes, "And why are you kept in the loop?"

Ziva looked away again, "Officer Bashan at the Israeli Embassy kept me informed, he owed me a favor." Ziva seemed to redden slightly, "It was from a misunderstanding when Gibbs came back."

"When they thought you killed those three men in Georgetown?" Tony's question was soft. He was still processing that Mossad was keeping tabs on his father and that Ziva was freely telling him this.

Tony thought he could see Ziva face flush even more as she answered, "Yes, something like that."

He reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, "Nice try, sweet cheeks."

Ziva looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean? I am telling you the truth, just because Mossad made a wrong assumption about our relationship…"

Tony moved his hand from her cheek to place a finger over her lips, "That's not what I meant. You were trying to get me off the question again." Tony gave her a level look. "Answer me, Ziva. Are we starting something here, or not."

Ziva's expression became playful, "Are you, Tony DiNozzo, asking about commitment?" She began to laugh, rolling over onto her back.

Tony just stared at her with a slightly hurt look on his face. Her laughter trailed off as she realized Tony was not going to give her a glib rejoinder. She looked over and took in his expression, her face becoming serious, "Oh my God, you are."

"And what if I am," Tony's eyes bored into hers. "I'm waiting for an answer, Ziva."

Ziva's expression went back to playful as she rolled over onto Tony, straddling him. "I would say that I need to give this some serious thought. You know, this would be a big decision for us." She looked down at her hands on his chest, her fingers running through his chest hair. "I may need some, _convincing_," the last word was said with a wicked little smile.

Tony reached up with both hands to push Ziva's hair back from her face, "I think I would be willing to work on that." He drew her face down to his to kiss her hungrily. When he broke the kiss he smiled widely and leaned up to whisper to her, "It's your turn to be on top, and no, that is not my knee."

"I know," Ziva replied, laughing as she leaned down for another kiss.

Much later, as they were laying together, legs entwined, enjoying the afterglow Tony broke the silence with, "Was that convincing enough, or do you want another demonstration?"

Ziva looked over at him in disbelief, "You cannot be ready again so soon." Her eyes swept down his body to check the truth of her statement.

"Well, no," Tony answered. "I was talking more along the lines of us doing this again at a future time. You know, some time after today." He smiled at her, "I am reserving the right for again tonight, also, though."

Ziva rested her chin on Tony's chest as she looked up at him, "The commitment question, yes?"

Tony leaned his head down to kiss Ziva's forehead. "Yes," he answered softly.

"Tony," Ziva drew back to be able to see his eyes. "We are partners, we will always be partners." Ziva reached up at his sound of protest to put her hand over his mouth. "Partners, Tony, in every sense of the word. No matter where I go, who I am matched with, my _partner _is you." She held his gaze for a moment as her nodded slowly to show he understood. "Good," Ziva continued as she wrinkled her nose, "Now let us try your shower, you are beginning to smell."

Ziva gave a little laugh at his outraged expression and jumped off the bed to scamper into his bathroom. Tony gazed after her naked form before her call of, "Coming, Tony?" caused him to give his head a little shake.

As he climbed out of bed to follow a smile bloomed on his face, "Not yet," he answered under his breath as he heard his shower start.

Much later, after they made their way back to bed, to fall into a peaceful sleep. Tony found himself awake in the early morning hours. He turned to look at his partner and let his gaze flow down her naked back as she lay on her stomach, her face turned away. _We didn't even have a real date yet_, he thought while watching her. _ But she has committed herself to me as strongly as if we just had a church wedding. If I screw this up, even Gibbs won't find me, probably 'cause he and Abby would help her hide the body._

"I know you are not asleep, sweet cheeks," he said softly, with a laugh in his voice. "You're not snoring."

He felt her shift her arm to rest her hand on his chest, twining her fingers in his chest hair. He gave a little wince as Ziva's hand pulled hard at his hair. "Hey, that's not nice."

Ziva turned her head to look over at Tony and smiled sweetly, "I thought I would get back to physically torturing you, yes?" At Tony's expression, she gave a little laugh, "What, you said I could after our 'talk'." She slid her hand down to grasp him lower. "We are done talking for the moment. And it is my turn to be on top again."

As Ziva straddled Tony he smiled up at her, "I can live with that." She bent down to kiss his jaw line and moved lower to nibble on his neck, causing him to think, _I can't believe I am going to be UA for my first day of my new assignment. Oh, well, maybe they'll give the Major Case Team the job of finding me._


End file.
